Numerous health issues can cause numbness in the hands. For some, exercise is appropriate; for others, exercise could make matters worse. Direct nerve damage or structural changes involving joints, tendons or ligaments that put pressure on nerves can cause numbness. Diseases such as Type 2 diabetes or Raynaud's disease can also damage nerves. Numbness often occurs in conjunction with tingling or electric shock sensations. Ask your doctor before doing exercises to treat numbness in your hands or fingers.
Why Numbness Occurs
Nerve compression causes numbness in the hands. Carpal tunnel, the most common type of nerve compression and hand numbness, according to the University of Chicago Center for Peripheral Neuropathy, often follows repetitive motion activities. When you repeat a motion, especially one that puts your hands in an unnatural position or that causes abnormal stress, you develop microscopic tears in the tendons and ligaments. Swelling develops in the injured area, which compresses the nerves and affects their normal functioning. High blood glucose levels in diabetes can damage nerves all over the body; 60 to 70 percent of diabetics develop some type of neuropathy, the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse reports. Some chemotherapy drugs can cause numbness from Raynaud's disease, a type of vasospasm; alcoholism also damages nerves and can lead to numbness.
When to Exercise
Exercise can help some but not all type of numbness in your hands. The main risk of exercising a damaged area is the possibility of increasing the damage. In many cases, doctors recommend resting an irritated area rather than exercising it and risking further damage. Once the swelling and irritation subside and the damage begins to heal, gentle range-of motion exercises can keep the area from becoming stiff and difficult to use. To know what type of exercises to do to treat numbness requires a knowledge of which nerve is damaged and how moving your hand might affect it. Only do exercises your doctor or physical therapist recommend.
Types of Exercises
Tendon gliding or nerve gliding exercises help move the tendons and nerves into their correct positions, by gently stretching them. Nerve gliding exercises, such as curling your wrist and fingers toward your body, then opening them fully and extending them, followed by bending the elbow, could help ulnar nerve entrapment. Nerve-gliding exercises can help the median nerve move more smoothly through the carpal tunnel and under the transverse carpal ligament in some cases. But it can make things worse in others, by overstretching or irritating the nerve, MayoClinic.com cautions. Stretching your arms and fingers frequently might help numbness in some cases. If you have Raynaud's disease, which causes vasospasm of the arterial blood vessels that causes decreased blood flow to an area, wiggling or massaging your fingers or hands frequently can help keep the circulation moving.
In some cases, treating hand numbness depends more on what not to do rather than on exercises. The solution could be as simple as not leaning on your elbows, if you have numbness in your fingers caused by ulnar nerve compression. Proper hand positioning when you do repetitive motions can help prevent re-injury. Wearing a brace, using an arm rest or changing your chair height can help prevent compression at your wrist or in your hand. Lowering your blood glucose levels can improve diabetic neuropathy.
- MayoClinic.com: Numbness in Hands
- MayoClinic.com: Carpal Tunnel Entrapment
- American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the Elbow (Cubital Tunnel Syndrome)
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Raynaud's Disease
- Center for Peripheral Neuropathy: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: Diabetic Neuropathies
- Hand Health Resources: General Information-Exercise
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